


Outro

by DarkJediQueen



Series: Love Grows With Music [5]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:14:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25219102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkJediQueen/pseuds/DarkJediQueen
Summary: The time has come for Aaron and Jack to move in with Spencer and Sammy.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid
Series: Love Grows With Music [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/873945
Comments: 18
Kudos: 132





	Outro

**Author's Note:**

> **Year** : October 2012 (Season 7)  
>  **Spoilers** : Up Through Season 7  
>  **Notes** : None  
>  **Beta** : ScarsLikeVelvet  
>  **Gift For** : rivermoon1970

Aaron isn't sure what is going on. He knows that something is up with Spencer and that he wants to talk about it, but his mind isn't made up exactly, so he's waiting. He can feel Spencer's eyes on him some mornings when he's not fully awake. When he turns to look, Spencer's eyes are on him, but his mind is elsewhere. Aaron usually takes full advantage of that and rolls over before Spencer can really understand that he's moving and pins him down. 

They make out like teenagers whenever they can, but in the bedroom, it's always slow and perfect, and no rush for anything else. Sometimes it does lead to sex and others just a really good way to start the morning.

It's Saturday, and there is a cookout later in the day, just when it's getting dark so that Spencer can set up the projector, and after they eat, they can watch a movie, drive-in style without actually going to a drive-in. The team would all be there, and it was going to be one of the first times that it included a plus one for everyone. Will didn't really count as he came over all the time with Henry, but Spencer wanted to see how Sammy did with a large group. Sammy would be able to go inside and up to his room or his piano room if the crowds were too much. Or even the small deck that had been added to Spencer's room so he could watch the movie with no one around. 

"What are you thinking about?" Spencer asked as he stretched a little, his beard growth scratched on Aaron's chest, catching a nipple and making him hiss in pleasure. 

"I'm thinking about you."

"Yeah?" Spencer asked. He trailed his hand down from where it was over Aaron's sternum and splayed it on his stomach. The sound of the piano wafting up had Spencer groaning. "Why can't the kids sleep in? Shouldn't they be all about the sleep?"

"Spencer, we went to bed three hours after them. They crashed early, remember?" Aaron asked with a laugh. 

Spencer made a raspberry-like noise and pushed him up to a sitting position. "Let's table the thoughts of us for later."

"Sure, one condition."

"What?" Spencer's eyebrow was raised.

Aaron grinned and pulled him in for a kiss. He rubbed his hand over Spencer's chin and grinned. Spencer hadn't shaved the day before because the sound of breaking glass had woken him up, and by the time he remembered, he was already at work. Aaron wasn't sure if he liked it or not, but he wanted Spencer to keep it.

"Don't shave today. I wanna see what you look like with a thicker one."

"It used to grow in splotchy. It doesn't anymore thankfully, but I think I can keep it like this for you," Spencer said. He leaned over to give Aaron a chaste good morning kiss, but Aaron gripped the back of his head and slip his tongue to wiggle between Spencer's lips. Spencer laughed as he parted his lips. 

The song playing changed from something that Aaron was used to, to something that was very upbeat but also almost angry.

"You know, I think I regret ever teaching him that song."

"Why?"

"It's his passive-aggressive song that means he's waiting to be fed."

Aaron laughed full-bellied at that one. Spencer just shoved at him and wiggled out of his grasp. Aaron watched Spencer as he got dressed in more than a pair of boxers. No matter what they did, they always at least put on underwear after cleaning up. Sammy was good at knocking if he needed something, but if he was freaked out by something, he didn't. So clothes were the way of things. It wasn't horrible by any stretch of the imagination as neither wore pants unless they hadn't done anything. It wasn't like Aaron stayed over every single night at Spencer's. 

Though with Spencer living closer to New Haven, Aaron had been staying over more than he probably should in the months since June. The October weather was warmer than it normally was, but the nights were cool, and it made for perfect nights for cuddling. Aaron enjoyed that part just as much as sex. Nearly five months of learning what the other liked and didn't had made for nights where Aaron felt like his body would explode and then nights where it was nothing but the soft, sensual pleasure that nearly left him aching for more even after orgasm. 

Spencer slipped on a T-shirt before sitting back down on the bed to slip on a pair of socks. Aaron watched and looked at the mismatched pair of them. Aaron had learned that while Spencer did wear two different socks, they usually matched in some fashion or another. The length was usually the same, the thickness, and there was a color that was on both unless it was Halloween themed, and then that was the thing that matched. It was October, so that meant all socks were Halloween socks. Today was a purple one with haunted houses and an orange one with blackout pumpkins. 

"At least Jackson's not so much of an asshole that he makes you wear dress socks."

"Excuse me, my works socks for Halloween are dress socks, thank you very much." Spencer gave an indignant huff and walked out of the room. Before he was fully out of sight, he started to laugh, ruining his exit. Aaron laughed as well. He hadn't ever laughed so much with someone. Even the early days with Haley didn't have this much. The only time that Aaron remembered being close to this was when Haley had been pregnant in the beginning. 

Aaron got up out of bed and started to get ready for the day. Everything for the cookout was set. Everyone was bringing the sides, and the desserts were going to be delivered closer to evening. Spencer had already bought the meat, and last night after dinner, the chicken had been set in the sauce to soak overnight. 

The piano was still playing as Aaron walked down the stairs, and he looked to see that Jack was sitting on the floor of the room with his body slumped over the open end of the piano bench. He looked like he was asleep. Aaron turned to head into the kitchen. Spencer was sipping at a cup of coffee while flipping a pancake on the stove. Aaron saw that Sammy had laid out the cards of what he wanted for breakfast. There was no meal one, just a few things that were single items on a card. Aaron picked up each one and put it away after he had looked at it. The eggs were understandable. Sammy seemed to like Spencer's scrambled eggs best. The cream of wheat was normal, the toast, and the bacon. It was the pancakes on top that were a surprise.

Aaron saw that Spencer's pancakes were smaller than normal and that he had a stack of eight, which meant two each. 

"Do you like your apartment?" Spencer asked.

"My apartment?" Aaron wasn't sure what Spencer wanted to know. It was a good place. Jack was content, Aaron didn't have a yard to mow when he was already tired from work and didn't have to come back to find it taken over with weeds because he was gone for nine days. 

"Have you thought about moving?" Spencer asked, clarifying a little bit.

"A few times, but with it being just Jack and me, it's a little much to have a house, and I've not found a small one that I like yet." 

"And moving in here?" Spencer asked. 

Aaron looked at him. Spencer was still facing the stove, which was something that Aaron figured was on purpose. He filled the skillet with more batter and then kept his eyes on the pancake.

"I'm not going to ask if you are sure because you would never say it if you weren't, but what about Sammy?"

"He's gotten used to you two here over the past five months. He drew the other day." Spencer used the turner to point at the fridge. 

Aaron had noticed new artwork on the fridge the other day, but he had ignored it. Now, he wasn't going to. It was a very good drawing of Spencer's house with Spencer sitting on the front porch and Sammy beside him. There is enough space between them that Aaron figures that they sit like that often, and there is probably a picture of it. They were close enough that it's not that hard to know that they are fond of each other but nothing untoward. It's the other two on the porch that makes Aaron pause. Aaron knows Jack because of the soccer ball under his foot between the railings, and he knows himself from the tie that was drawn on him. It's the first time that Aaron knows of that Sammy had drawn either of them. It's good for someone like Sammy and realistic in a way that kind of shocked Aaron. 

Wondering if maybe Jack had drawn something like it and shown Sammy and Sammy had done it from memory. There are words at the top, and it takes Aaron a second to recognize the writing. It's not Sammy's, nor is it Jack's or Spencer's. It's Sammy's teacher at school. She always wrote at the top of the page what the art was about when Sammy brought home things. It said, 'My Family.' It was very interesting. 

Aaron figured that Spencer thought that it meant that Sammy was okay with Aaron and Jack moving in. They were there a good deal of the time. Aaron had stopped buying food outside of staples for the apartment. Milk hadn't been got in over a month. 

"So I thought that maybe we could do something over the next week. You aren't supposed to be heading out on cases since Morgan, Rossi, and Prentiss are needed to testify on that one case. I have a single day in the courtroom for it. We can see how Sammy does next weekend if you guys have stayed over all week long. You and Jack can head home and get everything you need to stay the week. If you want."

"Sure." Aaron walked over to stand behind Spencer as he turned off the burner before taking the pancake out of the pan. The cream of wheat was already in bowls on the counter. The pancakes were last. When there was no chance of something happening with the burner, Aaron wrapped his arms around Spencer's waist. "And if this week goes fine, and Sammy doesn't have a big freak out, I can talk to Jack about moving in."

"He's going to have small ones," Spencer said. 

"I know. There isn't a day that he doesn't have have a small issue, but he's gotten good at talking in his way. The sign with the no sign over a mouth was good for Jack when he's in the piano room with him. We can make it work, but I don't want to invade, and I don't want to run the chance of him backsliding if it's not what he wants even though we are both pretty sure that it's what he's asking with this." Aaron waves at the picture.

"I was going to suggest this week as the test. You've never stayed over for longer than two nights, so the week and then checking in again next Saturday would be good."

"Yeah." Aaron turned Spencer around to kiss him. Spencer's hands grabbed onto Aaron's shirt right at his hips, and he pushed into the kiss like he didn't want it to end. Spencer could kiss for days if Aaron let him, distracting him to no end, like when he should be getting dressed for work. Spencer's own starting and stopping times at work were more fluid. Aaron knew that Jackson got more than his worth out of Spencer, so if a forty-hour workweek became a thirty-eight hour work week, Jackson wasn't that worried. There were also weeks that Aaron knew Spencer put in fifty hours. It was the downside of salary work. 

Jackson was fair as hell, though, and made sure that Spencer was more than compensated for his work, even if Spencer thought he was being paid too much.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Aaron asked when he finally pulled back out of the kiss.

"Nothing. Tonight is going to be active. Why don't we just settle in and do as little as possible while also taking care of the food? I know the food needs tending every little bit as you turn it in the bags, but other than that, it's just drink-making, right?"

"Yeah. And that sounds good. I'm in the middle of a large project, and while it's not hard, it's time-consuming and takes a lot of brainpower. I'm mentally worn out."

"Well, then it's a good thing we were saving those documentaries to watch, isn't it?" 

"Breakfast," Spencer yelled as an answer. He gave Aaron a smile as he did it too. 

Jack and Sammy filed in to eat breakfast easily. The island was more than perfect for all of them to eat at. Aaron watched Sammy as he ate everything that was put in front of him. Aaron realized that Sammy was eating more than he had been when Spencer had taken him in. He was eating just about as much as Jack was, maybe even more. He wasn't gaining weight, but Aaron assumed that he was getting what his body needed. He was probably going to shoot up in height over the next month. Jack's last growth spurt's need of new clothes had been paid for by Jackson. Jack had come back after what was supposed to be an afternoon out with Jackson to eat lunch with more clothes than he actually had. 

Aaron did up the breakfast dishes with Jack's help on drying them.

"Aaron, I'm going to work on the files that I need to for work. I figured you and Jack could go and get things for the week," Spencer said as he walked into the kitchen. He had a small file in his hand. Aaron knew that Spencer didn't like to leave things that he could get done easily while at home. Aaron was much the same. His files were gorier, though, and were not something that Aaron would just leave lying around. Spencer's though was usually full of numbers and letters arranged in ways that Aaron didn't understand.

Getting Jack saddled up to head out was easy. He was more than willing to go and pack up enough stuff to stay for a week at Spencer's. Aaron stopped by and looked over Spencer's shoulder, where he was sitting in the living room. The papers that Spencer was looking at was literally coding. Aaron had no clue what kind of code, but that was what it was.

"Be back soon, love," Aaron said. 

"Hurry. I'm thinking we can go out for lunch. I don't want to cook, and I don't want you to either. You are going to be manning the grill tonight."

"Sure. Find out from Sammy what he wants to eat." 

Aaron slipped toward the front door and watched as Sammy walked across the living room to settle on Spencer's side. He touched as little as he could get away with while also being as close as he could. Just like before, Aaron knew that Spencer had made the best choice on what he was doing with his life. Spencer had blossomed after taking in Sammy, but Sammy was living his best life. And that was all because of Spencer.

* * *

Spencer laughed as Aaron scooped him up and carried him across the threshold of the sliding glass door for the backyard. It was just after nine, and the kids were already in bed. It was a good night. Everyone was tired, but then Spencer wasn't shocked about that. Spencer had spent the past week boxing up Aaron and Jack's life while Aaron was on a case, and then today, the team had helped them get it all moved into Spencer's house. 

The test week with Sammy had gone wonderfully. In fact, it had gone better than Spencer had thought. Jack was good a helping keeping Sammy distracted with things when Spencer brought work home when he picked up Sammy from school on his shorter days. Jack was going to New Haven as well, and it was easy to pick him up. Jessica was enjoying not having to pick up Jack every single day. Spencer was doing a bunch of work that was easy to do at home, so every afternoon, he left in time to pick up the kids. 

"Really? We aren't married," Spencer said as Aaron started for the stairs. 

"And? I'm not going to carry you up the stairs." Aaron settled Spencer down on his feet and turned him to kiss him. 

Spencer followed the kisses and let himself relax into the hold that Aaron had on him. 

"What is this, Aaron?" Spencer asked as he settled on the stairs as Aaron pushed him toward them. 

"This is us christening the bedroom. Our bedroom. I know it's not like we haven't done it before, but I want it to be special tonight. It's my first night officially living here. So please?"

"You don't have to beg. I'll do anything that you want." Spencer cupped the sides of Aaron's face and pulled him in, Aaron pushed up into the kiss. 

Spencer started to walk backward, pulling Aaron with him. Aaron moved at Spencer's pace all the way until they were in the bedroom. Aaron shut the door and made sure that it was shut all the way. Because of Sammy, it wasn't locked. Spencer slowly started to take off his clothes under Aaron's watchful eye. Aaron only started to strip when Spencer was mostly naked and sitting on the bed. Getting each other naked usually took too long. Sometimes that was fine, but tonight, Spencer could feel that Aaron needed more than just that. 

"I missed you," Aaron said as he stepped forward to kiss Spencer again. He held onto Spencer with tight hands, keeping him right where Aaron wanted him. 

Spencer submitted to the kiss. He wrapped his hands around the edges of Aaron's hips and held on tight. It was a good feeling as he did it. He could feel the play of muscles underneath as Aaron wobbled a little as Spencer tugged him forward just a little. Aaron laughed into the kiss. He broke it after a few more seconds. His eyes were sparkling with happiness as he looked down at Spencer.

"Let's move this to the bed fully, huh?" Spencer asked as he let go of Aaron and scooted up the bed. He used that motion to wiggle his boxers off and then reached down to grab his socks and rip them off. He tossed all of the items close to where the hamper was, not caring to actually get them inside. Aaron crawled his way up the bed to Spencer but settled on his side. Spencer rolled to his side to match. "Jack was so happy today, getting to hang up the new things for his room. I think we made the right choice."

"Yeah, I think so as well. Yeah, it's sudden, but it's not like we didn't know each other for years beforehand. There is a depth to the relationship that others don't always have. Sammy seemed happy to have Jack here as well. I saw him helping Jack pick where to hang up the clings on the wall."

"Sammy helped me pick out the blue for the walls, and I think he did well. Jack really seemed to like it. It's a good neutral blue that will work for him for years. So how do you want to do this?"

"Well, we can rock, paper, scissor it just like our first time." Aaron pressed in for a kiss before Spencer could answer, but that was okay. Aaron kept on going until he had Spencer on his back. He draped himself over Spencer's body and sought out his hands to press them down. The kiss turned deeper, and Spencer fought out of the hold so that he could grab the back of Aaron's neck. Spencer knew roughly wanted, but it wasn't like Aaron didn't have his own ideas on what he wanted. 

It was good to feel Aaron stretching over him. To feel his muscles play over his body. Spencer loved every single part of Aaron's body. He had known that he liked men for a long time, but he had never realized that he had a very specific type of guy and it was someone who was bigger than him, not by a whole lot but enough that he could feel a little bit of safeness in their arms. To feel protected when he was being held tightly. Hell, Aaron had made him feel like that long before the attraction had started. Spencer was pretty sure that he hadn't felt safer in anyone else's arms since Aaron had helped him out of the shallow grave that he had been digging for his own body.

"I love you," Spencer said when the kiss finally broke. He looked into Aaron's eyes to see his feelings there on his face. Spencer used to think that he was so hard to read, but as he had gotten used to Aaron's micro-expressions, he had learned that Aaron had a massive range of emotions, but you had to actually want to read him to get it. 

"I love you, too," Aaron said before he pressed a kiss to Spencer's forehead. He sighed and pulled back. Balanced on one arm, Aaron ran his fingers down Spencer's face. His hand kept on going downward and swept across Spencer's throat just like Aaron had learned he liked. 

Spencer closed his eyes and let himself feel. He settled back on the bed and just enjoyed the feeling. He felt the first kiss on his cheek, and then it moved downward. Aaron rarely left bruises anywhere that could be seen because he didn't like the look that Jackson gave Spencer the single time it had happened. Spencer had enjoyed the way that Aaron was possessive around him. Like he was someone to protect. Aaron was the same around Sammy. They were adorable together. Sammy loved nothing more than being held by Aaron when they were in a crowded place like the mall when going shopping. Even though there were a few hours every Sunday morning where there wasn't music playing and only those who needed less stimulation, there were still always a lot of people. 

Sammy felt safe in Aaron's arms, and the first time that Sammy had held his arms up like he wanted to be picked up, Spencer had nearly lost it. He hadn't asked Spencer for anything like that before, but instead of being upset, Spencer had just felt happy. It was when Spencer had started to think about asking Aaron and Jack to move in. Aaron had ended up using Spencer to help him get Sammy onto his shoulders as carrying him the other way was too tiring on his arms, but on his shoulders had worked well. Now, whenever they went anywhere with Aaron, and there were people, Sammy would tap his hand up Aaron's body as high as he could reach. It was their signal for he wanted up on Aaron's shoulders. 

A nip on his chest had Spencer looking down at Aaron. Aaron was grinning. He knew that Spencer's mind hadn't been all on him. 

"Sorry," Spencer said, but he was smiling as he said. He leaned up, and Aaron rushed up to kiss him. Spencer was more than content to stay like this. There wasn't a need for a claiming of any kind. Hell, he was more than happy to just rut on each other for their first time in their house. Spencer further made his want known by wrapping his legs around Aaron's body and holding him tight. Aaron adjusted his body a little and started to rock them. 

Spencer knew that he was hard, but he didn't feel that need to rush into anything. He reached out and grabbed the lube before smearing it on his hand. He reached between their bodies, letting his legs relax so Aaron could lift up enough for Spencer to coat their cocks as well as a little of the area around so that they didn't chafe. They were not aroused enough to leak too much release nor sweaty enough to make their bodies slide easily on each other. He wiped his hand on the bed at the edge when he was done. There was no way that they weren't changing the sheets before they fell asleep that night. Spencer had bought several new sets just because they had been fucking like teenagers the last while, and Spencer ran out of sheets one night. Sleeping on the naked bed had been something he never wanted to repeat. Hell, Spencer had hated it and slept for shit. So much that Jackson had sent him for a nap before a meeting. He had woken Spencer with coffee and food after that and then gifted a new set of sheets to Spencer for that night, washed and ready to go. Even though Spencer had thrown in a load before he had gone to work. 

Seeking out Aaron's mouth, Spencer started up another kiss. It was slow and tender, the way that they rutted on each other. The feel of their bodies finally getting slick with sweat to where Spencer's legs started to slide as Aaron thrust against him. His hands on Aaron's shoulders couldn't find purchase. Digging in, Spencer felt Aaron jolt against him and moan. Spencer pressed in harder, not worrying about bruises. He tried to match Aaron's rhythm, and it was easy at first until Aaron's hand settled on his hip, holding him still. 

It wasn't all that long until Spencer felt the muscles in his body start to twinge in the way that he knew. He broke the kiss to whisper in Aaron's ear that he was close and then nipped at said ear, tipping Aaron over. The feel of the warmth of Aaron's release spreading all over him had Spencer coming just a few thrusts later. Aaron slumped down, off to the side so that Spencer could breathe but still close enough that Spencer could feel his weight. Spencer trailed his fingers up and down Aaron's cooling back and enjoyed feeling it. 

"Now, we just have twenty-three more places to christen."

"Twenty three?" Aaron asked as he raised his head to look at Spencer with a frown on his face. 

"That's how many surfaces there are in the house that are not the boys' rooms or the piano room that could support one or both of our weights. Like the bedroom floor, living room floor, couch, chair, the island in the kitchen, the counter in the kitchen. I could keep on going."

"No, no, that's fine. I just didn't expect you to have all of them right there in your head, but then I think that I really should have. We have done some fooling around on some of them already. Not the whole act mind you but at least close enough."

"Not enough for this. This whole house needs to know that any place is fair game outside of the kids' areas." Spencer wasn't going to start anything like that. The kids' bedrooms and the piano room were out of bounds for anything remotely sexual. Spencer didn't think that Aaron would mind about that. He was pretty good about it all, really, all of the quirks about Sammy and even the ones that Spencer had. It was something that Spencer had learned to live with a long time ago. That he had his own quirks that were not exactly normal. He had always pushed them up to raising himself with his mother around. There was always that voice in the back of his head that it might not just be that. It wasn't worth thinking about, though, because it wasn't like it was going to change his life in any significant way. He had already adapted to how he was. 

"I love you," Aaron said. 

"I love you, too." Spencer turned onto his side and looked at Aaron's face. He reached out and brushed a thumb over the area just below Aaron's all the way back to his cheekbone. Aaron was handsome, and Spencer loved to look at him when he was like this, soft and sated. It was the only time that Spencer had ever seen him without any worry in his eyes, outside of playing with Jack and Sammy. It was good. Their life was good.

Aaron rolled onto his side, pulling Spencer in close and tucking his face under his chin. Spencer closed his eyes and reveled in the feel of being like he was. Cleaning up would come later. For now, it was just them and this.

* * *

Life was good for Aaron, and he knew it. The move had happened with little fanfare, and it was now October. Birthdays had been celebrated, and the song that Sammy had played for Aaron had been the perfect gift. 

"Don't you need to be leaving?" Dave asked as he strolled into Aaron's office with a weird look on his face.

"In ten minutes. I have this one file that I need to finish up before I leave for the day."

"How is Reid liking the conference that he's at?" 

"Pretty well. Missing Sammy and Jack, as well as me." Aaron had been taking care of Sammy for Spencer over the past week. Today, Jessica couldn't pick up the kids from school, so he picked them up and took them home. It wasn't like Aaron couldn't take an afternoon here and there. He was the only person besides Dave who didn't really take a vacation like that. 

"He still calling every night?"

"Yes, the video function on his laptop that he has at home is nice. It calms down Sammy to be able to see him." 

Dave was silent for the next eight minutes as Aaron finished up the paperwork that he needed to get done before leaving. It was Friday, and Aaron was glad. Sammy was restless the night before, and Aaron had listened to him pacing in his room. He had asked Spencer about it as Spencer was three hours behind, so it was early enough he hadn't been back to the hotel where he was staying with Jackson yet. Spencer said it was more than likely from Spencer not being there, but Aaron had been worried about it and had stayed up until Sammy was quiet. 

The drive to New Haven was quick, but as Aaron got closer to the school, he got worried. He wasn't sure why. He saw Jack and Sammy waiting on him with another group of kids. A few were talking to Sammy about something, but even Aaron could see that they weren't paying all that much of attention to him. Aaron watched Jack tug on Sammy's backpack, and then they were moving over toward the car. Jack opened up the door, and Sammy got inside first, but he didn't buckle himself in like he normally did.

"Jack, belt," Aaron said as Jack shut the door. 

Jack reached over and buckled Sammy in. It wasn't that odd really as sometimes if Sammy was lost in his own world, he forgot things like that. It was easier to just do them instead of trying to get Sammy out of his world. Spencer was a lot better at knowing when was a good day to do it and when wasn't. 

"How was school?" Aaron asked, and then there was chatter from Jack for the short trip home. 

When they got home, Aaron frowned as Sammy wasn't moving to get out even with the back door open and his seat belt off. 

"Jack, how long as Sammy been like this?"

"He's just having a quiet day," Jack said as he rushed to the front door to unlock it. 

Sammy wasn't getting out of the back of the car, and Aaron was starting to get worried. He stopped and looked at Sammy. There was a light sheen of sweat on the skin that Aaron could see. He looked at Sammy to see that he was sitting weird. His leg was stretched out as much as it could get. 

"Jack, lock the house." Aaron pulled up his phone and dialed the emergency number for Sammy's doctor. His patients were all on the spectrum, and he kept a line open so he could meet at the local ERs to take care of them. The conversation was short, and Aaron was glad of it. He would call Spencer as soon as they were in the ER and waiting for the doctor to show up. 

Spencer would be on his way home thankfully and getting in just an hour or two from then, but Aaron wasn't going to wait until he was home to tell him. 

"Agent Hotchner," Doctor Stevens said as he met Aaron at the car with a wheelchair. "What's going on?"

"I have no clue. He's sweating, and he's been off. His leg is being held at a weird angle."

"Can you get him in the wheelchair?"

"Sure." Aaron moved to gently pick up Sammy. He hissed when his leg was moved, and Aaron ignored it and slipped Sammy into the chair. "Jack, get his backpack and yours and carry them in, please." 

"Sure." Jack looked really worried, and giving him a job would help to make sure that he didn't get too worked up on anything. 

Aaron wasn't sure that it was going to be possible at all, but he wanted Jack as calm as possible. It would help Aaron keep himself calm. 

"And the school said nothing?" Stevens asked.

"No. He was in the normal line, and if he had been hurt at all that the school knew he would have been with a teacher, and I would have been called. Spencer's out of town, so I'm at the top of the contact list."

"Has Spencer been notified?"

"No. I was going to call once I got the paperwork taken care of for Sammy."

"Call now. I'll take Jack and Sammy right into the room. You can take care of the paperwork once you have come in." 

Aaron nodded. He really wanted to be there right with Sammy, but he understood that calming down a freaking out Spencer would be better done outside. Aaron hit the call icon and started to type Spencer's number, and it popped up, and he pressed it.

"Hey," Spencer said. 

"Fuck," Aaron said, and he took a deep breath. He knew that his word was going to let Spencer know that something was wrong. Aaron had never had to make a call like this before. "I picked up the kids from school, and Sammy was covered in sweat, and his leg was a little weird. He wasn't keeping it like he normally did when in the backseat of the car. 

"That means that he's in pain. He sweats when he's in pain. Call-"

"I'm here at the ER and Sammy's back with Doctor Stevens now."

"Okay, I'll have the car take me to the ER instead of home. Our flight got in early, and Jackson pushed me into letting his driver take me home. I think that all things considering that was a good thing." The sound of Spencer's breathing disappeared, and then Aaron heard murmuring. "Fifteen minutes."

"You are that close?"

"I think he was taking the leisurely way home, and now he's not. I'll see you soon." Spencer hung up.

Aaron felt like he could breathe again. It was obvious that Sammy had gotten hurt at school, but that didn't mean a damned thing when it came to kids. Aaron expected Spencer to yell at him, even if he was meaning to yell at someone else. Aaron wasn't sure how to react to how Spencer had taken it. 

Going back inside, Aaron found that a nurse was holding a clipboard for him, and it had the forms needed. Aaron found the cards that he needed for Sammy's medical information and the letter giving Aaron the right to make medical decisions for Sammy even though Spencer was on his way. The first card Sammy's insurance card and the second was a list of things to not do with him. Since Doctor Stevens was already there, it was a little moot, but Aaron would rather have that in the file for this. 

"His father is on the way, so when he gets here, can you send him back?"

"Sure thing." 

Aaron got the cards and the paper back, and he slipped them into his wallet again before heading back to find where the kids were. One of the nurses was on the phone but pointed him toward a room at the back. Aaron walked that way to see that it was a room that was kind of soundproof. 

"Ah, Hotch. Welcome. I was just telling Jack that I'll need to take Sammy back for some X-rays, and while it would be good to have him along, there is no reason for him to go as he won't be able to be with Sammy. So he can stay here while you two come with me." 

Aaron nodded his head and looked at Jack, who looked upset, but he slumped down into his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked about two years younger with that pout on his face.

"Jack, they aren't going to let you in the room with him when he's getting the X-ray as they will want to keep your exposure down. I'll be behind a wall and not able to see him, but I can talk to him to make sure that he knows that he's not alone."

"Okay, but you are coming right back here, right?"

"Of course," Stevens said. He reached out and ruffled Jack's hair before waving for Aaron to head out. 

The doctor pushed Sammy down the hall, and Aaron kept pace with him. He made sure that he was in touching-distance if Sammy wanted to touch him, but he didn't make him endure his touch. It was going to be harder to get Sammy to do what they wanted if he was touched a lot before this. 

The X-ray took little time since Sammy was good at laying still when he was asked. Aaron hated the little whimpers he made when Aaron had moved him from the chair to the table and then back again when it was done. 

Sammy was as good of a patient as he could be as Aaron wheeled him back to his room. He didn't like being stuck in the chair, but even Aaron could see that the injury to his leg wouldn't allow him to walk anywhere. Aaron could see how swollen the leg looked now that he could see it pulled up a little. 

Spencer was in the room with Jack in his lap when Aaron wheeled Sammy back in. Jack scrambled off of his lap and allowed Spencer to crouch in front of Sammy. Spencer touched his cheek before he started to lift up Sammy's pants leg. He got it up a few inches and then let it drop. 

"Let's get him on the gurney," Spencer said. He stayed crouched and looked up at Aaron before looking at Sammy again. "Who do you want to lift you?"

Sammy's hand shot out toward where Aaron was. Spencer smiled and stood up to get back away from where Sammy was.

It was easy for Aaron to pick him up again and lay him on the bed. Spencer started to remove Sammy's shoes before he worked on getting his pants off. He was wearing a pair of bright pink boxers. Jack laughed a little, and Aaron wondered if they were something that Sammy had picked out himself, or it was a Spencer thing. 

Aaron could see the part of Sammy's leg that was injured as it was swollen. It looked black and blue, but Aaron wasn't sure if it was broken or just sprained. They would have to wait for the doctor to come back for that. 

"Jack, where was Sammy at lunch?"

"He ate his sandwich and chips, he didn't want his milk, so I swapped it for him with a girl who had a bottle of water that she didn't want, but she wanted his milk. Then he went to the music room and played. I heard him but didn't go with him. Do you think someone hurt him?"

"I doubt it. He's good at letting me know that one. One of the kids shoved him, and it was the final act before they were kicked out. He went right to a teacher. I would say that he hurt himself, and he didn't really care about it. Or he was waiting until he was home and safe. He's done that before when he's cut himself. I noticed only after I had picked up his laundry for the day to throw in with mine. I saw the blood and then found where he had kind of wiped it off and then just put on his pajamas."

"Wow," Jack said.

Aaron agreed with that. He knew that Sammy was different than others, he understood the whole spectrum, but he had never heard anyone talk about that kind of thing. He really needed to get online and talk to a few people in the forums that Spencer was a part of. Aaron had made an account, but he hadn't gone on there. Spencer hadn't talked about it before, so Aaron assumed that it had gotten better as far as Sammy and injuries. Aaron didn't check over Sammy's clothes, though. Sammy had run through the house that morning, so Aaron assumed that it had happened at school. 

"Doctor Reid," Stevens said with a grin on his face as he came into the room. He was holding a folder that Aaron assumed had the film of Sammy's leg in it. "I'm glad you are here. Sammy has a small hairline fracture of his leg. It looks just like any injury where he's fallen on something like the edge of a curb."

"Or the raised part of the music room." Spencer reached out and ghosted his fingers just above where the bruise was. 

Aaron could see the part that Spencer had noticed. The part where the bruise was darker in what looked like an angled line. Where his weight had pressed the leg into the ledge. 

"Yes. He'll be fine with an air cast until it's healed. It would be better for him, given his issues with things on him. He can remove it when he's home, and his foot is up, but when he's moving around, he will have to wear it. Ice and elevation as much as possible, no buses for him just to be safe. I'll give you full instructions on paper with his discharge papers. There seem to be no big issues. He'll be tender for a few days while the swelling goes down. Another reason for the air cast." 

Aaron watched at Sammy was fitted for the air cast, and Spencer was given a second for him to take home. Spencer's hands were steady as he carded his hand through Sammy's hair. Sammy was settling down on the bed even as Doctor Stevens touched him. He told Sammy everything that he was doing before he did it. It took little time at all for Stevens to get the air cast on Sammy. 

"Hey, Jack, do you think that while I go and get a few things that Sammy will need and talk to Spencer and Hotch, you can keep Sammy company? Keep him up on the gurney, and everything will be fine." 

"Sure. Is he in pain?"

"Yes, but he can't tell us like you could, so we have to guess and everything. That's part of what I am going to get, pain medications for him."

Jack nodded his head, and he moved over to climb up onto the gurney with Sammy, laying so they didn't touch but that Sammy knew that he wasn't alone.

"I would call the school, just to be safe," Stevens said as soon as the door was pulled shut behind them. 

"I was going to when we got home, the Headmistress should still be in the office. He probably didn't even try and tell anyone. It's something that they do need to look for. I didn't think he would walk around with something like that without telling someone. He probably was going to tell you when you got home. I at least hope he wasn't going to wait for me. He likes feeling safe before revealing things like that." 

Aaron stayed with Sammy and Jack while Spencer worked through all of the paperwork to get Sammy discharged, and then Spencer was coming into the room again. He had a smile on his face that didn't go to his eyes. He also had a pair of crutches in his hand and a frown on his face. 

"You think those are going to work?"

"Probably not, but when we get home, we can try. All else fails he can use a wheelchair at school with someone pushing him to get him from class to class. We will figure something out. The school already has a few wheelchairs for kids who get injured and need it to get from there to a car if they don't need to go to the hospital."

"Like when Bobby bruised his hip tripping over his own feet and landed badly?" Jack asked.

"Yes, just like that. I remember you telling me that he was wheeled out to the car, and his parents took him home. There are a few older kids who would probably fight over the right to push Sammy around as it gets them glowing reports for getting into college." Spencer walked to Aaron and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "We've got an escort out there just waiting on getting Sammy into his wheelchair. I have his prescriptions and a pill that he wants us to get into Sammy as soon as possible but knows that getting him to take it here would be an issue and there is no reason to stick him with a needle if we don't have to."

"Sure." Aaron looked at Sammy, who looked so small on the bed, and he walked over to him. Brushing the hair from his forehead, Aaron smiled when Sammy kind of looked at him. "Ready to go home, buddy?"

Sammy nodded his head. 

"All right then. I'll pick you up and get you into the chair, and then we are going to head out to the car." Aaron looked up at Spencer. "Did your things make it over?"

"No, they are being dropped inside of the house. Gave the driver the temp code to allow him to access the house for a single-use so he could drop my things off. He didn't mind doing it at all. Has a teenager and understands needing to be here, and I had too much stuff to try and fit into your car along with all of us. So, dropped at home. I will be shocked if Jackson doesn't stop by at some point. He's quite attached, and I doubt that he's not been informed about all of this."

"Yeah, he'll be by at some point." Aaron didn't even want to check his phone. Jessica didn't need to worry about them at the moment until she could come and see Sammy for herself. 

The trip outside was uneventful, Sammy waved at a few people who waved at him which Aaron felt proud about. Sammy had come out of his shell a lot with Spencer. He had become someone who was happy instead of just existing. Aaron knew that Sammy's parents had loved him, but loving and understanding were two very different things. Spencer had been raised by a mother who loved and understood him, and he had taken that in and learned all that he could to understand the boy he took in as his own. 

"Hey, Sammy," Spencer said as soon as Aaron had set him down on the couch and stepped back. "We are going to order in food for tonight. How does that sound?"

"I'll get the cards!" Jack said before he took off toward the kitchen. He came back with the cards for the food that could be ordered and delivered. There was another set that was just for the food they had to go and get.

Sammy flipped through the pages as Spencer went to the kitchen and came out with a juice box and a package of crackers. Aaron settled Sammy's good up on the coffee table with a pillow under it. It would help him get settled down a little more if the ache started to go away. 

"Need you to eat these, Sammy. Then I need to give you a pill before dinner gets here." 

Spencer opened up the crackers and laid them on Sammy's leg with the wrapper under them so that Sammy could just reach down and grab them. He ate every single one as he slowly flipped through the food book four times before he held his hand out for the juice. Spencer speared the straw into it and handed it over. Sammy took a drink and then looked up at Spencer and stuck his tongue out. Aaron had never seen Sammy taking pills before. Spencer laid the pill on his tongue before moving back. Sammy drank down the rest of the juice and then held out his hand again. Spencer swapped the juice box for another, and Sammy drank it as well. 

"He's pretty good at taking pills. It's the liquid medicine that he doesn't do well with. That's why Stevens calls in most of his prescriptions so that he can make sure that they don't give the liquid. I had a few issues with that and some of the cold medicines before. The pharmacists decided that since he's a kid, the doctor meant to put the liquid."

"Ah, yeah. Jack hates the pills. Liquid is what makes up the medicine cabinet for him."

"Yeah, I've noticed, but that's good. I like the liquid stuff, but they don't make a lot of that stuff for adults." Spencer was smiling as he waited for Sammy to hand over the second juice box. 

Sammy took his time looking at the food and going through the whole thing another three times before settling on what looked like burgers. Aaron had no clue which place did burgers that delivered, but he figured that Spencer had a menu somewhere. 

"Small or medium?" Spencer asked.

Sammy held out his hands and spread them far apart.

"Medium it is," Spencer said before he leaned over and kissed Sammy on the forehead. Spencer handed over another little book of images, and Aaron saw that it had things like glasses of water, pictures of the bathroom, and other things on the cover. "Hand whatever you need to Jack, and if he can get it, he will, if not, he will get one of us. I think it's time for ice on your foot. Aaron?"

"Sure." Aaron got up from where he had settled down on the edge of the couch and followed Spencer to the kitchen. Aaron watched him fill up one of the old fashioned like ice things with ice before handing it over. 

"He's never really had an ice pack on him before. I want to call the school, just sit with him? Make sure that he's not in too much discomfort with it. This was suggested since the feel of a towel on him might not be the best, he does have a few texture issues with normal towels. If this doesn't go well, I have a few other options to try."

"That's in the book you made up for Jessica, isn't it?" Aaron asked. He hadn't read through it even though he knew about it. It was a flow chart, as well as a few other things that anyone who was watching Sammy might need. Aaron made a note to look through it all to make sure that he knew what to do with icing if Spencer wasn't around. Aaron had thought about a lot of things that he needed to do with Sammy while Spencer was gone, but this kind of thing had never entered his mind. It was something that was very interesting to learn, though. Jack still came to him to get all of his boo-boos kissed. He wanted to be coddled a little after even getting a paper cut. It was never too much, and Aaron was more than happy to bestow that affection. 

"Yes. I've never had to use an ice pack on him at all, so it's all-new territory for me."

Aaron leaned in for a kiss and wrapped his arms around Spencer to hold him tight for a few seconds. Spencer held him back just as tightly. It felt good. To give Spencer comfort and to take it for himself. 

"Love you," Aaron whispered as he pulled back. 

"You, too," Spencer said. He picked up his cell phone from the counter and headed toward the back door and opened it to slip outside. 

Aaron kind of wanted to be there for the conversation, but he knew that divide and conquer was the name of the game. 

Jack was sitting on the couch beside Sammy with a book in his lap, and he was reading to the other boy. Aaron dropped onto the coffee table in front of Sammy. 

"Hey, Sammy, I'm going to take off the air cast for a little bit while we ice your leg, does that sound okay?" Aaron knew that the fracture's location was a little odd for the ice, but Aaron just hoped it would do well enough. The air cast was doing good at keeping that area stable. The break was low enough on Sammy's leg that it was nearly an ankle fracture instead of the leg. Sammy didn't do anything, but his eyes were on his leg as Aaron reached over to touch. 

Sammy hissed as Aaron settled the ice pack on his leg gently. It had to be cold enough at that point. 

"Too cold?" Aaron asked. 

Sammy's head nodded in a yes but changed to a no just as quick. Aaron knew that it was him just getting used to it. 

"Tap my arm if it becomes too cold, okay?"

Sammy nodded again. 

"You wanna keep on reading to him?" Aaron asked as he looked at Jack.

"Yeah, I think so." 

Aaron moved to where he was settled on Sammy's other side, and as soon as he was there, and settled, Sammy leaned into him. He felt his phone vibrate, and Aaron checked it before texting Spencer back that he was stuck. Spencer came into the living room a few minutes later with a sheet of paper in his hand. He handed it over to Aaron. 

It was the work of a few minutes for Aaron to tell Spencer what he and Jack wanted. Spencer went back to the kitchen and Aaron could hear him talking, there was more talking than just the order, so Aaron figured that he had called someone else. Aaron focused on Jack instead. 

The stress of the day had to be getting to him because Aaron felt himself being shaken awake a little while later. He opened his eyes to see that Sammy was sitting on the floor with his foot under the coffee table and a box of chicken tenders in front of him. Aaron stared at that for a long while. The last he knew Sammy didn't like them.

"What happened there?" Aaron grabbed his glass of tea and sucked down a good bit of it before he looked around for his food. 

"I got chicken tenders for myself, and he tried one before I could get the drinks in here, and now he wants them. It's a good thing that I don't mind what he likes on his burgers." Spencer handed him a container that had his burger in it as well as a small helping of onion rings. Aaron ate those first, dipping them into the ketchup and barbecue sauce mixture that he liked from the place they had ordered from. He ate those, and when he was done, Spencer dropped a handful of fries into the box as well. 

Spencer had his burger gone and was working on the fries before he reached over and grabbed a tender with a laugh. Sammy made a flapping motion with his hand, and it made Spencer laugh more. 

Jack's food as mostly gone already.

"How long after food got here did you wait to wake me up?" Aaron asked. 

"I got it all spread out and then went to get drinks. It was just a minute or two. You were not forgotten at all."

Aaron nodded his head and dug into his burger. "Thank you."

"You are welcome." Spencer moved around to where he was leaning against Aaron's shoulder, his head down on it. Spencer tucked his feet up onto the couch with a sigh. 

"The Headmistress is looking into it, but she figures just like I did that he didn't even try to say anything. They are going to keep a closer eye on him in the room when he goes in there when there isn't a class. She's very upset about it all, and she's working on the list of students who can help him get from class to class each day. There are quite a few who need things like that for their transcripts, so she figures that she'll have more than she needs. Jackson offered a motorized one, but I told him that it was not needed since he needed to move around a little. Now he's looking into crutches for kids like him or at least one of those scooter things that he can lay his foot on and walk/scoot around on."

"That might be a good idea," Aaron said. He had used one before, and he was kind of upset that he hadn't thought about it. 

"Jackson's going to be busy all weekend, and even if he goes figure out one that Sammy would use, I still want an older kid going around with him between classes. He doesn't duck and weave or get out of the way of other kids, so he would still be a bit of a hazard."

"Well, if anyone can figure out one that Sammy would use, it's Jackson. Won't help him upstairs, but from the bathroom to bedroom won't be bad, and we can carry him up the stairs."

"Yeah. He's good about that when he's tired."

"Yes, I've carried him up every single day this week."

"Really?"

"I think that he missed you. He came into the bedroom one night as well. Crawled into bed with me and slept with his head buried in your pillow. Maybe next time we can see about moving a pillow of yours into his room. We can see if that helps some."

"Wells it months before I leave for this much time again. Jackson is making sure that I don't have to go to too many things far from home. I just want him to be safe and happy. Though I am glad that you are around for this one. Jessica would have stepped up. I am sure if you had to work, but he's happy with you around. He likes you. He likes you a lot."

"And I love him. He's a good boy." Aaron looked at Sammy, who was looking around. He reached into his box of tenders and picked up the second to last one. He turned and handed it out toward Spencer.

"Aww, thanks, Sammy," Spencer said as he took the tender and dipped it into his sauce before taking a bite. 

Sammy picked up his last one and started to eat it, only using a little bit of the sauce for each bite. His methodical way of eating those things was something that kind of scared Aaron. Left side, right side, and then the middle. Each bite getting just a little sauce, and then it was being consumed. 

"The only tenders he will eat it seems," Spencer said.

"So, this is new?"

"Yeah. I've never seen him do it. I wonder if Jackson took him there to eat and let him try one. Or Sammy just took it from him."

"Yeah, he's gotten good at that part, hasn't he?" Aaron asked. 

Dinner was finished up quickly with Jack taking care of everyone's trash. Aaron felt like he could go to sleep at any point in time and just let himself go with it. He felt Spencer covering him up and sighed as he felt lips on his forehead. 

* * *

Spencer felt the bed dip, and he rolled onto his back to look at Aaron returning to bed, only it wasn't Aaron. Spencer looked and saw that Sammy was carefully crawling over Aaron's body. Sammy dropped down to the bed between them and wiggled his way up to where he was lying fully between them. Aaron raised his arm enough to allow him to slip under, and then it laid it down. Spencer smiled at the image that it made, and he grabbed his phone to take a picture. 

The door creaked again, and then there was another set of feet coming across the room. Spencer scooted back from where he was to allow Jack to crawl up into bed between him and Sammy. Jack dropped down like he was still half asleep and was fully asleep in seconds.

"Oh, to be that young again," Aaron said with a laugh.

"No, thanks. I prefer to be an adult," Spencer said.

"You don't have any point in your childhood that you want to go back to?" Aaron asked. He cracked an eye open and looked at Spencer.

"No. Not really. School sucked, at least grade, middle, and high school. College was great, but even then, it wasn't a lot of fun until I was older. I think that the first time that I ever had a lot of fun with my peers was the night in the bar before the case in Georgia." 

Spencer knew that he didn't have to say what night in what bar before Georgia. There was only a single case that was strong enough to make it memorable for Georgia.

"Really?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah. Anderson took me in and showed me all of my fellow nerds and geeks and then let me hang even though I was the outsider. That was the first night that I had been someplace where I was invited, and it wasn't meant as a joke. Where I was invited and wanted instead of it being something I was afforded just because I worked there or went to school there. I was wanted for me."

"When you put it like that, I can see why you liked going to the bar that night and then after with Anderson and Gina. You guys became close even though you didn't work together all of the time."

"Yeah. When you were on that case in Iowa a few weeks back, Anderson arranged for Will to babysit the kids and dragged me out to a bar. They didn't let me get too drunk and returned me home a little tipsier than I had gone. Jack was a little shocked, but Sammy just rolled with it when they found me asleep on the couch the next morning. I figured that if I was going to sleep anywhere, that would be a good place. I'd hear anyone breaking in better from there."

Spencer yawned, his jaw cracking from the force of it. 

"Sleep. Let's get some sleep. These guys aren't going to be kind in the morning if we are not at our best."

Spencer nodded his head and closed his eyes, turning toward Jack a little, smelling the body wash that he and Sammy shared. Jack used all of the same kinds of products that Sammy did, so that smells didn't bother him. Aaron had to change a few of his things over the time of them being together, but Aaron had said it was more than worth it. He was able to wear his favorite cologne while on cases, and that made him happy. 

The feel of the morning sun on his face had Spencer trying to stay asleep just a little while longer. He felt a small body pressed against him and tipped his head to press a kiss to the head that was on his chest. Jack loved to use them as pillows. 

"Morning," Jack said, stretching and pushing his bony body into Spencer's more.

"Good morning." Spencer forced his eyes open. With Jack awake, he wasn't going to be getting back to sleep any time soon. He looked down at Jack before looking at where Aaron was. Only to find that the other half of the bed was empty.

"Sammy and Dad went downstairs," Jack said. He sighed and rolled to get to his knees. He looked down at Spencer and then moved to straddle his stomach. 

Spencer had been treated to this sight a few times when Jack wanted something from Aaron but never him. 

"Yeah? Why did you stay up here?"

"Didn't want you waking up alone. It's not fun to wake up alone."

"No, it's not, but it's okay if I do. I know you guys are still in the house."

"I also wanted to talk to you."

"Yeah? About what?" Spencer asked. He moved his arms up to where there were under his head, tipping his face to look at Jack better.

"Well, Sammy's mostly non-verbal, but that doesn't mean in his head he doesn't say stuff." Jack was thinking hard about what he wanted to say, so Spencer just let him get his thoughts in order. "He's a smart kid, and I know that. So we spent last night talking about a few things, and we came to a decision."

Spencer wasn't sure what kind of decision it was, but the last time that Jack and Sammy had come to a decision, it was that every day that Sammy didn't have a freak-out, they got two cookies after dinner, and when he did they got one. 

"And what is that decision?"

"Well, Dad's Dad or Daddy, depending on what kind of mood I am in, but since we live with you and all of that, it feels weird to call you Spencer or even Uncle Spencer."

"Okay," Spencer said. He tightened his hands and tried not to scream for Aaron to come and take his kid and make him talk in ways that Spencer understood. 

"So at school, I printed off a list of all of the various ways that people say 'father.' Terms from other languages, various versions of father, dad, daddy, and the like, just like you taught me how to do."

Spencer had a feeling that he knew where this was going, and he really wasn't the one that should be here for this, not alone. He was about to open his mouth to yell for Aaron when Jack lunged forward and covered his mouth with both of his hands. 

"Don't!" Jack said. He glared at Spencer and looked so much like his father that Spencer's heart beat a little faster than normal. 

Spencer nodded his head, and Jack glared for a few more seconds before he leaned back. 

"Good. Now you obviously have a choice in the matter, but Sammy and I decided on Papa." 

"And what is my choice if Papa is the only option?" Spencer asked.

"Well, you can be called Spencer for a while until you get used to me calling you Papa, that's your only option."

"I can see that you get your ruthlessness from your father. What does he say about this?"

"Well, according to Uncle Derek, the only people that matter in this are you and me. It's not like you are replacing Dad. You are just as good as another parent to me, and Dad won't give a poop about it. He'll probably be really happy as it means he didn't mess me up before you came into our lives in a new way."

Spencer wondered how Jack had got so smart without them noticing, but he knew that he had always been, but before, he didn't need to speak up. Aaron got him, but Aaron and Spencer didn't always get Sammy, but Jack seemed to. So Jack had become his mouthpiece. He had grown into someone who was a sibling to another child that was non-verbal for the most part. 

"And what if I really, really hate Papa?" 

"I guess, maybe you can pick another name, but Sammy and I have to agree to it."

There was the sound of socks on the carpet, and Spencer looked over at Sammy, who was creeping into the room. He wasn't looking at Spencer or even in Spencer's direction. He was just shuffling forward in a slow manner. 

"Come here, Sammy." Spencer held out his hand, and when Sammy crawled onto the bed, he retracted it. "You like Papa, huh?"

Sammy's eyes darted in the general direction of Spencer's face and then away again before he nodded his head. 

"Then it's a good thing that I like it, huh?" Spencer said. 

Jack screeched and dove down to hug Spencer, and before Spencer could move him to the side to stop crushing him, Sammy was pushing in on that side, and Jack moved over all on his own. 

"What's going on in here?"

"Cuddles with Papa," Jack called out, his voice muffled in Spencer's T-shirt. 

"I see. Well, breakfast is ready, and it's not gonna stay hot for long. How about we cuddle with Papa after everyone eats?" Aaron asked.

"Ugh, fine," Jack said, sounding like it was the worst idea in the world. 

Jack rolled away from Spencer and dropped off of the bed. Sammy went the other way, letting Spencer grab him and kiss his forehead before he took off after Jack. 

"Cuddles with Papa?" Aaron asked.

Spencer got up off of the bed and looked at Aaron. He had his indulgent smile on his face. 

"I was told I had two choices, I'm Papa, or I'm Spencer, but that if I really hated Papa, I could pick a different name. There should be a list in Jack's room, maybe Sammy's. Jack compiled all of the names that are derivative of father in English and other languages, and then they went through, and Sammy helped him pick."

"Only Jack would want to make sure it's a name that Sammy likes, even though Sammy doesn't speak." Aaron walked over to where Spencer was and pulled him close. He rubbed their cheeks together. 

Spencer wrapped his arms around Aaron tightly and held on. This was so much more than what he thought he would ever get in life. It was more than he thought that he wanted. This was happiness, love, family, and a million other good things in his life. He was going to hold onto them with strong hands, making sure that they were not ripped from him. 

"I love our family," Spencer said into Aaron's ear. 

Aaron laughed and hugged Spencer to him a little tighter. "So do I."

Yeah, this was everything that Spencer had ever wanted.

# The End

**Author's Note:**

> I write fanfiction for fun. It's a hobby and a stress relief. I refuse to stress over my writing. What you see is what you get. Errors, plot holes, and all. Thank you for reading my story! 
> 
> I can be found on MeWe [here](https://mewe.com/i/beccaqueen1), join me there and we can discuss my fics and whatnot. 
> 
> Check out my two Quantum Bang fics that went live this June.  
> Teen Wolf's [Fail. Try Again. Fail Better.](http://quantumbang.org/fail-try-again-fail-better-by-darkjediqueen/)   
> Criminal Minds' [The Ache for Something More](http://quantumbang.org/the-ache-for-something-more-by-darkjediqueen/).


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